Child Dental Anxiety

We like your child to have a pleasant experience with dental care, so if they are anxious about the visit, you may want to consider having us use some light sedation techniques with him or her, such as nitrous oxide gas or oral sedation. Memories of traumatic dental care as a child persist into adulthood and often contribute to dental neglect.

Some pointers for helping avoid dental anxiety in your child:

Don't treat dental care as a punishment. Sometimes parents try to get their children to brush their teeth by threatening them with painful dental care if they don't. This creates a very difficult situation and a high level of anxiety when they finally need that care.

Your child will often adopt the same attitude that you show toward dental care. Some parents unwittingly communicate anxiety to their children when they overprepare or excessively coach their children for a dental visit.

Bring your child in early for routine care. If your child's first visit is for a simple examination and teeth cleaning rather than to treat pain, it puts him or her on a path of developing a healthy attitude toward dental care.